IRVINE, Calif. – July 31, 2006 – Montana reported 67 properties entering some stage of the foreclosure process in July, a 16 percent increase in activity from the 58 properties reported in June, though 24 percent below the 88 properties reported for the same month last year, according to the RealtyTrac™ July 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, with more than 600,000 properties from more than 2,500 counties across the country, and is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real Estate, AOL Real Estate and Knight Ridder Online.

“The Montana economy is growing, particularly in the energy sector, and the state’s housing market remains strong compared to last year,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Additionally, solid job growth in Montana has lead to a record low unemployment rate.”

Montana ranked 43rd in the nation in total foreclosures reported for July. The state’s foreclosure rate of one new foreclosure filing for every 6,151 households ranks it 38th among the 50 states.

CascadeCountyLeadsState in Foreclosure Activity

CascadeCounty led all counties in the state, reporting 20 properties entering some stage of the foreclosure process for July. FlatheadCounty came in second, reporting 12 properties, followed by RavalliCounty reporting 9 properties.

CascadeCounty Posts Highest Foreclosure Rate

CascadeCounty posted the state’s highest foreclosure rate in July, reporting one new foreclosure filing for every 1,761 households — 3.5 times the state average and 0.7 times the national average. RavalliCounty had the second highest rate, reporting one new foreclosure filing for every 1,772 households — 3.5 times the state average and 0.7 times the national average.

Montana Total Has Little Impact on Monthly National Total

Montana foreclosures accounted for less than 1 percent of the 92,845 properties entering some stage of foreclosure nationwide in July. The national total represents a 5 percent increase from June when a total 88,194 foreclosures were reported. The nation’s foreclosure rate also increased to one new foreclosure filing for every 1,245 households during the month.

The RealtyTrac Monthly U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides the total number of homes in some stage of foreclosure nationwide, by state and by county. RealtyTrac’s report includes properties in all three phases of foreclosure: Pre-foreclosures — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Foreclosures — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank).

Montana Foreclosure Market by County – July 2006

State Name

NOD

NTS

NFS

LIS

REO

Total

1 in every # households

/NationalAverage

/StateAverage

United States

20,202

38,173

4,795

13,295

16,380

92,845

1,245

—

—

Montana

4

55

0

0

8

67

6,151

0.20

—

Big Horn

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

Blaine

0

1

0

0

0

1

2,947

0.42

2.09

Carbon

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

Cascade

0

17

0

0

3

20

1,761

0.71

3.49

Deer Lodge

0

1

0

0

0

1

4,958

0.25

1.24

Fergus

0

3

0

0

0

3

1,853

0.67

3.32

Flathead

2

9

0

0

1

12

2,898

0.43

2.12

Gallatin

0

6

0

0

0

6

4,915

0.25

1.25

Glacier

0

1

0

0

0

1

5,243

0.24

1.17

Granite

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

Lake

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

Lewis And clark

2

1

0

0

2

5

5,134

0.24

1.20

Lincoln

0

0

0

0

1

1

9,319

0.13

0.66

Mineral

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

Missoula

0

8

0

0

0

8

5,164

0.24

1.19

Musselshell

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

Powell

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

Ravalli

0

8

0

0

1

9

1,772

0.70

3.47

Sanders

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

Stillwater

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

Yellowstone

0

0

0

0

0

0

—

0.00

0.00

About RealtyTrac Inc.

Ranked as the third largest real estate site by MediaMetrix, RealtyTrac Inc. (www.realtytrac.com), is the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, providing all the resources that home seekers, investors and real estate agents need to locate, evaluate and buy properties below market value. Founded in 1996, RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national database of pre-foreclosure, foreclosure, For Sale By Owner, resale and new construction properties, with more than 1 million properties across the country, property reports, productivity tools and extensive professional resources. RealtyTrac hosts nearly 3 million unique visitors monthly and has been chosen to supply foreclosure data to AOL Real Estate, MSN Real Estate and Yahoo! Real Estate. For more information, visit www.realtytrac.com.

About RealtyTrac

RealtyTrac® is the leading provider of comprehensive housing data and analytics for the real estate and financial services industries, Federal, state and local governments, academic institutions, and the media. Data is aggregated from parcel-level records of more than 125 million U.S. residential and commercial properties and delivered through customizable products including bulk file licensing, APIs and custom reports.